Tropical Abandonment for Icy Welcome Home

Truly bittersweet to leave David and my parents in law's house which really started to feel like home. The oranges and grapefruit falling grenade like on the tin roof didn’t even wake me up the last couple nights and I also learned to sleep through the tireless roosters of David which are truly legion. I'll miss my constant trips to the Chinese run corner convenience store where I was consistently impacting on their supplies of diet coke (coca cola light in panama) not to mention my good friend Atlas.

It's the people I'll miss more than anything and especially the remarkable members of my wife's family. As usual they made me feel so welcome and bent over backwards to tolerate the big gringo in their midst. Each time I come to Panama I feel more at ease and at home. This was my longest stay in a while and the longest I've gone speaking Spanish exclusively as well. I got to the point I was ordering my meals without help and conversing with store clerks.  At times I even found myself thinking in Spanish which is reassuring in consideration of my future plans.

My Completely Awesome Brother In Law Dropping us Off at the Bus Station

My brother in law gave my wife and I a ride to the bus station on Wednesday morning where we hoped to catch the 10am bus. When we showed up, after the inevitable delays while my wife accomplished some last minute errands, there was a long line that looked to fill even the huge double deck 10am bus. My wife stood in line while I guarded luggage and she secured seats on the 11am bus. The Panamanian bus system runs pretty efficiently by their own standards. Since so many people wanted the 10am bus, as soon as they filled up another bus they sent us on our way, leaving David at 1045. I had to perform my usual contortions to fit into the seat but another benefit of the weight loss made the trip entirely more bearable than past efforts.

The Line for Tickets

As soon as we got on the road they popped in a series of three movies dubbed into Spanish. Kind of weird hearing Tom Cruise hiding forth as a Latino and after Jack Reacher the next two movies were too bad to even consider watching.  The InterAmerican highway between David and Santiago is in just terrible shape with gaping pot holes which brought traffic to crawl a bunch of times.

Inside the Bus Watching Cruise

I spent a lot of time gazing out the window watching the beautiful Panamanian countryside flow by.  It's the height of the dry season so everything was pretty parched and brown but the mountains were spectacular in the distance. There were numerous spots where some of the Panamanian "Indios" took advantage of one of the ubiquitous potholes to set up a roadside booth selling trinkets including their colorful long dresses. You also see a dramatic range in the houses along the road ranging from palatial to primeval. There was even a small castle with drawbridge that seems to have fallen on hard times. I took a bunch of pictures during the drive and I'd like to share the with you.  Take a drive with me down the InterAmerican Highway from David to Santiago, Panama:



The Castle

The bus always takes a. 45 minute meal break in Santiago. I think it might have something to do with the free meals provided to the bus driver but it is a welcome leg stretch after three hours. There was a large open air lunch platform for the passengers as we waited for the trip to continue. Apparently our bus was operated by a Panamanian relative of a character my mother used to call John P. Madbastard because we'd caught up to that 10am bus and we eventually passed it and arrived in Panama City a full half hour before it, so kismet!

The Santiago Break

The closer you get to PC you really sense the immense population and energy of the Capitol. I find it hard to recognize the city each time I return because of the seemingly endless construction going on. I was able to glean memories from the few landmarks remaining from the American Canal Zone where a young lieutenant cut such a wide swath in the early 1980s and discovered his destiny along the way.

Searching for a Cousin in Albrook

We got to the bus station and I asked the wife where we were supposed to link up with her cousin. Apparently that insignificant aspect was never discussed between them and we spent the hour successfully avoiding each other over the vast mall attached to the bus station. After linkup was eventually effected and we made out way through the always entertaining Panama City traffic we assembled a representative collection of family members at a nearby restaurant deep in the heart of the casino district.

Found!!! (After an hour search)

In the Casino District

My wife's brother in law was a no show which surprised us until we learned there was some kind of drama with this usually ebullient personality. I was a little bummed by his absence since he has a lot of construction experience and I wanted pick his brain about a certain future house.  He is also a lot of fun to hang out with.

One Last Family Dinner

I said goodbye to my wife early Thursday morning because my cousin had an clearly morning meeting a work which meant I was dropped off at 630am for my 1145 flight.  I was initially concerned that my usual go to restaurant in the terminal was gone (remember Panama is always under construction) but I eventually found a state of the art food court hidden above the gates and all was well. That is except for the only reading material left was the Angelica Huston autobiography which is fascinatingly unreadable for long stretches.

My First Sight of the Good Ole USA - YIKES!

The flight was awesome and I had the entire row of seats to myself.  I cannot remember the last time I’ve been on a flight where that has happened.  I didn’t argue with the space which was a great way to spend the five hour flight.  I didn’t look out the window for a few hours but when I did I was kind of shocked (although I shouldn’t have been) when I saw a series of ice flows off the New Jersey coast.  It kind of brought home that my tropical getaway was truly over.

My son was waiting for me when I walked out of the terminal and as we walked to the car I was screaming like a little girl at the cold.  Well, that might have been an internal scream (not going to show weakness in front of the first born son).  My son cheerily opined that I was lucky since it had significantly warmed up prior to my arrival.  It was 23 degrees, for God’s sake!

My Wife Snapped This From the Top Floor of Her Bus as They Crossed Panama Canal

We stopped for dinner where we learned via daughter text that my wife had arrived back in David and she even sent me some pictures to show her beautiful country one more time.  She got the double decker bus this time and spent the trip in veritable luxury which made me feel a little better about the sacrifice she made accompanying me to Panama City. 

I Have it on Good Authority There is a Driveway Somewhere Under There

I was a little optimistic about the snow as we approached the house and then we turned onto my street all the hopes were dashed.  I swear I live in some sort of snow funnel.  We parked down on the street and slogged through the snow to the house (the plants all survived but my wife has already demanded photographic proof).  I got the trusty snow blower out and cut a path through the two foot drifts at the base of the driveway that had prevented entry.  It really brought home the fact I wasn’t in the tropics anymore.  I can’t wait to go back.

I Miss Panama